Pure

Out now: The Land in Winter, shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2025 Pure: an enthralling tale of an extraordinary year in pre-revolutionary ParisWinner of the Costa Book of the Year Award'Irresistibly compelling' Sunday Telegraph'Dazzling' Guardian'A work of beauty' The Times Deep in the heart of Paris, its oldest cemetery is, by 1785, overflowing, tainting the very breath of those who live nearby. Into their midst comes Jean-Baptiste Baratte, a young, provincial engineer charged by the king with demolishing it. At first Baratte sees this as a chance to clear the burden of history, a fitting task for a modern man of reason. But before long, he begins to suspect that the destruction of the cemetery might be a prelude to his own.Praise for Andrew Miller'Andrew Miller's writing is a source of wonder and delight' Hilary Mantel'One of our most skilful chroniclers of the human heart and mind' Sunday Times'One of the best writers at work today' Telegraph'A wonderful storyteller' Spectator'One of those rare novelists who can rock up in any time and place and convincingly inhabit that particular historical moment' The Times